After allegations that the United States would acquire Ericsson and Nokia in lieu of acquiring Huawei's 5g technology for future telecom projects, the US Vice President Mike Pence and a White House economic adviser dismissed the rumors that it would control the two companies. The denial was made after US Attorney General William Barr claimed that the US should consider this option if it wants to go against Huawei in the development of 5G networks in the country.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow shot down rumors that the US would buy telecommunication companies such as Ericsson and Nokia to increase its competitive power against Huawei in the development of 5G technology. He claimed that the US is not in the business of buying companies like these regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign entities.
He, however, claimed that there had been no restrictive impositions about US companies in their distinct personalities from the government from acquiring them. At present, US shares in Nokia were at four percent higher on the New York Stock Exchange while Ericsson had 5.4 percent on Nasdaq.
Last week, Barr claimed that the United States and its allies should have controlling stakes in Huawei's strongest competitors Ericsson and Nokia. He claimed that this move would allow the US to dominate in the development of next-generation 5G wireless technology, the latest feature offered by Huawei Technologies to other countries.
Kudlow claimed that the US had been working closely with Ericsson and Nokia to develop a plan on creating a 5G network that does not involve the cooperation of Huawei. He claimed that the partnership with these companies would allow the US to utilize essential equipment for building 5G infrastructure.
Both companies have been reported to have a combined market capitalization totaling 53 billion USD. The report claimed that there is still a lack of clarity as to whether the US would tap to stakes in these firms or whether foreign regulators would approve the same.
In Barr's statement, he claimed that American ownership of these companies might happen through a consortium of private American and allied companies. He claimed that this would enable the US to have a larger market and financial strength by acquiring Ericsson and Nokia and eliminate its concerns about dominating the telecommunications market in developing 5g infrastructure. He also suggested that the US and its allies must actively consider this approach.
In other news, Forbes claimed that the Chinese embassy in Paris released a statement claiming that China has been giving Nokia and Ericsson fair treatment when it came to the deployment of 5g networks in China.
The statement also said that China even allowed these networks to participate in the deployment of the core networks. The Chinese embassy then urged the French government to extend the same fair treatment towards Huawei.
